Environmental Heating & plumbing

PEACOCKE ENERGIES

Heating engineer and plumber, covering Chamonix valley, Servoz & St Gervais.

Specialising in renewable energy: Wood pellet boilers, heat pumps, solar, ventilation and heat recovery.

Our focus is to install modern home heating systems with the lowest possible environmental impact.

Bilingual english/ french.

Fully French qualified and insured.

Wood pellet boilers

The three great things about wood pellets are:

-They are much cheaper per kW than traditional fossil fuels and electricity.

-They store and move like a fluid for automatic handling.

-Pollution is negligible compared to fuel and traditional wood heating.

The yield of heat in the latest pellet boilers is now up to 107% compared to about 15% in an open fire or 60% in a stove. The 107% yield in pellets is due to new technology which extracts energy from exhaust gases.

Heat Pumps

Using refrigeration technology, the energy can be captured from outside your building and used to heat it. The bottom line is a performance indicator called a COP, and it means energy gained for energy purchased. For example a heat pump with a COP of 5  gives you heating 5x cheaper than a traditional heater.

Heat pumps can extract energy from air (variable source throughout year) or from the ground (relatively constant source).

Solar (thermal and photovoltaic hybrid)

A self explanatory source, but there is definitely an art in optimising an installation based on situation / orientation and combination with the other heat sources in the house.

Solar-thermal can be used to heat domestic hot water, central heating or a combination of both.

Solar-PV create electricity and can be used to lower your power bills.

The new hybrid panels can heat both hot water and create electricity with a high yield due to the cooling effect of water. 

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Pollution

Pollution has become a major problem in the Chamonix valley during periods of inversion in the air mass, particularly in winter when heating is used. There is far too little acknowledgment of domestic pollution by residents and a tendency to solely blame road traffic.

A pellet boiler produces  1000x less  particle pollution than an open fire,

and 100x less than a stove. The fuel source is renewable, low CO2 emissions & low running costs.

Heat pumps have no local air pollution, however the source of electricity must be considered (coal? nuclear? or renewables?) and the loss in transmission (factor of 2.6x use).

Heat pumps lower the electricity load and bring us closer to a goal of renewable energy.

Grants and subsidies

France is catching up to leading countries. With new regulations on performance of housing and incentives to lower energy consumption, there is a maze of rules and hidden advantages pointing toward renewable energy.

We can advise, and help exploit the system to deliver the best systems economically.

30% tax credit on renewable energy equipment.

2000€ grant on replacements of old fireplaces or stoves.